Drop tube for ice can agitation



July 26, 1938. J. c. KOCH ET AL 2,124,622

DROP TUBE FOR ICE CAN AGITATION Filed Oct. 9. 1936 INVENTORS p H. 7. Ho/brook J. C. Koch and- Patented Jul 26, 1938 I 124 522;

UNITED .STATES PATET .QFFIQE' H "2 ,124,622 A I I DROP TUBE FOR ICE'CAN AGITATION John C. Koch, Stockton, and Harry T". Hclbrook,

Oakland, Calif. v Application October El, 1936, Serial No. 104,804

' 4 Claims. (claim-159) This invention relates generally to the ice makcured thereto in watertight connection. Althoug ing industry and in particular relates to an imthis float is preferably made of metal in cylindriproved form of drop tube. cal form, it may be possible to employ a rubber In the commercial production of ice it is comball in place of the metal float. 5 mon practice to inject air into the water being The upper end of the tube projects a short dis- -5- frozen in a can, the injection of air agitating the tance beyond the top of the float into a ferrule 3 Water and creating a concentration of impurities which is secured to such projecting end as well and salts toward the center of the can asthe as to the top of the float. A tapered air supply water freezes from the walls of the can inwardly; connection is removably engaged in the open end These impurities and salts finally'become concenof the ferrule 3. A flexible rubber hose 5 iscon- 10' trated in an unfrozen core in the cake of ice and nected at one end to connection and at the other are removed by means of a core pump. The end to an air supply pipe 6 extending transverse-' core is then filled with clear water and the freezly of a water retaining can I in which the drop ing of the block of ice completed. tube is disposed in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

The injection of the air into the cans of water The tube l is p o de W t a Ser es Of Sma l 15 has heretofore been accomplished by means of o es 3 in ts e t as 1 s a P Of Spaced fixed drop tubes depending into the water es 9 W hin the float 2. through which air is injected into the water at a fixed point. However, due to the fact that the Operation point of injection was fixed, the water in the can o improved drop t b i employed in the fol- 20 remote from such point was not adequately agilowing manner; tated and some of the impurities and salts re- The can 1 i h i nded by the brine, mained in t wa a t froze- As a result, the is filled with water to a level some distance below clarity of the ice was impaired. the top. The drop tube is then placed in the t iS therefore the Principal ObjeOtOf Oil-r water; the tube being of such length that when 25 VeritiOrl to provide p tube which, When in use suspended from the float, the lower end of the a suspended in a can of water to be frozen, will tube will be several inches from the bottom of the automatically travel about in the can thereby ascan h tapered connection 4 is placed into S g a recurring agitation of the Water at 911 ferrule 3 in order that air may be supplied to the points in the can and a concentration of substant b 30 tially all impurities and Salts- As the air discharges from the lower end of A further object of our invention is to provide tube l,the air bubbles agitate the water surroundn pr p tube which is simple d ineX- ing the-tube and float. When this occurs, the p v d yet effective for the rp for float is unstabilized and the tube will swing in which it is designed. one direction or the other from its initial vertical 35 An th r o j t f ur ven n i to pr vi a position as shown in Fig. 2. This results in the Unique method of Concentrating t pu t s tube discharging the air into the water in such and Salt from the Water, employing gitation direction as to cause the discharging air to propel Created y 7 the tubean-d float about the tank. The flexibility These objects we accomplish by means of such of rubber hose 5 as well as its length permits the 40 structure and relative arrangement of parts as tube and float to travel about freely and without will fully appear by a perusal of the following material restriction. specification and claims. As the tube and float are thus propelled about In the drawing similar characters of reference the can, the water in the tank is agitated at every indicate corresponding parts in the several views: point and the impurities and salts effectively con- 45 Figure 1 is an elevation of our improved drop centrated out of all of the water into the center tube, the float being shown'in section. core area.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of our improved Of course, as the water begins to freeze inwarddrop tube as positioned for use in a can of water, ly from the edges of the can, the path of travel one corner of the can being broken away. of the continually moving tube will be gradually 50 Referring now more particularly to the charrestricted and finally the tube will be frozen into acters of reference on the drawing, our improved the cake of ice after the core is pumped out and drop tube comprises a relatively long slender tube refilled. After being frozen into the cake of ice,

I. The upper end of this tube l projects centrally hot water is injected into the tube, the hot water through a hollow, cylindrical float 2 and is sepassing throughholes 8 to free the tube and 55 still in practice such'deviations' from such detail may be resortedtoiasdo not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

. Having thus described our invention, what'we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by;

Letters Patent is:

V 1. In ice making apparatus, an open top ice making can adapted to containa quantity'o'f water, an air supply pipe disposed above the open top of the can,"a float adapted to be supported by the water inthe can, a relatively long tube open at'its lower end secured to the float and depending therefrom into the water, and a flexible hose connected atone end to the air supply pipe and at the; other end to the upper end of the tube; said flexible hose being of sum- I cient length so that the'float may travel to any point in the can in an undetermined course and without material restriction.

2. In ice making apparatus, an open top ice making can of relatively great length, adapted to contain a quantity of water, an air supply connection disposed above the open top of the can at a point substantially central between the ends of the can, a float adapted to rest on the surface of the water, a relatively long tube open at its lower end secured to the float and depending therefrom into the water, and a flexible hose connected at one end .to the air supply connection and at the other end to the upper end of the tube; said flexible hose being of a length substantially equal to one half the length of the can b so that the float and attached tube may travel from one end of the can to the other" in an undetermined course and without material restriction.

" 3. 'A droptube unit for use in connection with,

ice making, comprising a relatively long tube open at its lower end, a float secured to said tube adjacent its upper end, and flexible air supply means secured in connection with said tube; the float being hollow and the tube having holes communicating with the interior of the float.

4. In ice making apparatus, an open top' ice making can adapted to contain a quantity of water, a float adapted to be supported by the" water in the can, a relatively long tube open at its lower end securedto the float and depending therefrom into, the water, and flexible air supply means secured in connection with said tube'at its upper end; said means being arranged so that the float may travel to any point in the can in an'undetermined course and without material restriction.

JOHN ClKOCH. HARRY T. HOLBROOK. 

